In the not-too distant past it was quite possible for Hollywood stars to pocket what we can only imagine are swagbags of cash for starring in some pretty goofy Japanese advertisements, safe in the knowledge that no one they knew well would ever get to see them. Unfortunately (for them, at least) YouTube has changed all that.

That said, Quentin Tarantino's latest foray into acting is unlikely to prove tremendously embarrassing - if only because it shows the director of Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction as a good sport. Tarantino is the latest celeb to appear in a long-running series of ads for Japanese mobile phone manufacturer SoftBank, starring the White family, whose members include Me (played by popular singer/actress Aya Ueto), Dad (a talking dog), Mum and Older Brother (played by African American actor Dante Carter). Tarantino takes the new role of Uncle Tara-chan, a samurai-loving relative who appears wearing a black Japanese kimono.

At a press conference yesterday, Ueto and Carter screened clips from the new commercial. Tarantino himself did not appear, but Ueto told reporters the film-maker and occasional actor "was very energetic and did a lot of adlibbing". She also said working with him was "truly interesting".

Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds star Brad Pitt is also no stranger to the world of Japanese advertising. He has appeared in two commercials of his own for SoftBank, playing an aide to sumo star Musashimaru Koyo.

What do you reckon? Do Tarantino and Pitt's adverts remind you of Bill Murray's turn as a fading movie star arriving in Japan to shoot an ill-advised whisky advert in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation? Or are they just a bit of harmless fun?